How Advanced Exercise is Meeting Families where they are with New Ammenities
No, it’s not the plot of a blockbuster movie. It’s what’s happening in multi-unit, multi-family housing all over the country. Apartment communities are engaging in competitive battle-meets-bribery tactics to attract and retain tenants for their properties. Who’s winning? Those properties with the strongest lifestyle amenity “translation” connection to their desired population are winning. Property managers in residential living who really understand their prospective tenants, who “speak their language” and are able to offer a compelling package of amenity options, have a significant advantage over the opposition. In the amenity war, they win.
One of the newest warriors in the amenity war is The Quincy in Denver, Colorado. This 359-unit luxury apartment tower is the newest star on the ever-expanding Denver horizon. The stunning views and iconic design are instant draws, but the “unparalleled amenities” are what The Quincy is proud to capitalize on to attract tenants.
The tenants that The Quincy is trying to attract are young professionals, the vast universe of millennials who prefer to rent versus buy. This desired group of tenants make their rental decisions based on lifestyle values and amenities that are as engaging as they are practical, as entertaining as they are accessible.
At The Quincy, they’ve built an entire “plaza” of goodies that is literally called the “amenity plaza.” This amenity amusement park is described as follows: “A large community room, cyber café and game room are joined by fitness facilities and an exposed rooftop lounge featuring multiple hot tubs, grilling areas and fire pits. The property’s signature element will clearly be the pool, featuring a fully transparent exterior wall visibly perching swimmers eight stories above Denver’s central business district along Curtis Street.”
Prior to The Quincy, property manager Shea Properties had typically created 800 to 1000 square foot fitness centers, but this time they splurged for an almost 1800 square foot facility to meet the needs of their fitness-minded community members. “The team at The Quincy did their research in order to be the best,” said Jody Huddleson, fitness design consultant for Advanced Exercise, who worked on the fitness center for the building. “They wanted a balanced mix of cardio, weight training and functional training, and above all they wanted enough options so that residents could use the equipment whenever and however they wanted.”
Before the team began the design of the fitness center, they visited a number of apartment fitness centers to check out the norm, so that they could improve upon it. For example, the norm they discovered is 1 treadmill for every 100 units. The Quincy made sure to have at least four treadmills, while also adding two Powermills, two flexstriders and two IC5 bikes that are also popular with their active resident demographic. There’s also a Snyrgy360 T which is a space-conscious system that offers users a variety of strength training workouts.
The project was a lengthy one, building a premier property that would stand out from among the crowd. However, the extended time to completion was not a concern for property owners/managers Shea Properties. With a portfolio of over 2 million square feet of commercial space along with 2,000 apartment homes in Colorado alone, Shea Properties has a vision for The Quincy and what will be The Prism, an “office cube in glass” that will be the Phase II to The Quincy’s Phase I. When the Phase II Prism is built, it will complete the Shea Properties’ goal of offering a live, work, play lifestyle hub for local community members.
The fitness facilities are a key component to the live/work/play environment, and along with the variety of fitness options at The Quincy there’s also a dedication to long-term asset development. “Every step of the design and every piece of equipment was a careful choice,” admitted Huddleson, “working together to match the needs and wants of the community with high quality equipment solutions.” One of the keys for success, according to Shea Properties’ executive vice president Peter Culshaw, is to start with quality: “building with high-quality materials and minimizing long-term operational costs are the basis for decision-making rather than economizing development.”
Partnering with like-minded architecture firms, fitness design consultants and other contractors from the earliest parts of the project is critical. “Culshaw’s absolute conviction that conscientious people applying proven processes is ultimately what makes projects successful” was a driving force behind the creation of The Quincy and, as general manager Kyle Roth adds “Advanced Exercise has really helped The Quincy with their insight and expertise on what our customers are looking for as it relates to fitness programming. It’s been a fantastic experience to work with them and a true testament to the success of the building.”
Contact an expert fitness design consultant in your area to start planning your fitness advancements today. https://www.advancedexercise.com/contact-us/
About Advanced Exercise
Founded in 1986, Advanced Exercise is a leading fitness equipment and facility design resource, representing more than 30 equipment brands to bring clients the best new or used equipment solutions to maximize the use of available space and meet the needs of a diverse community of fitness amenity end users. For more information on fitness equipment and facility design services, visit advancedexercise.com or call 800-520-1112 to connect with one of Advanced Exercise’s experts.
